March 2, 2015Las Vegas Review - JournalEditorial: States taking job regulation too farIf you think government can be trusted to regulate your right to make a living, consider the case of Steve Cooksey...
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February 25, 2015Washington PostThe sound of the government retreatingI went to yesterday’s oral argument at the Supreme Court in the case of Henderson v. US, a case I blogged about earlier...
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February 25, 2015Associated PressBill would allow raw milk to be advertised in OregonSellers of raw milk want Oregon legislators to let them legally advertise their product...
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February 25, 2015ForbesAfter The Government Seized Their Cash, Drivers Not Charged With Crimes Will Get Back Their MoneyWhen does going nine miles over the speed limit cost $11,000? When you drive in Humboldt County, Nevada...
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February 24, 2015Minnesota Public RadioNew donation rules help some 2014 candidatesA new report from the Institute for Justice shows that some Minnesota candidates benefited from...
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February 23, 2015The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans tour guides' licensing fight turned away by U.S. Supreme CourtA group of New Orleans tour guides failed in their most recent effort to eliminate a city law that requires they be licensed...
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February 23, 2015Associated PressJustices Reject New Orleans Tour Guides' Free Speech AppealA free-speech appeal from tour guides in New Orleans who object to the city's requirement that they be licensed was rejected..
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February 23, 2015USA TodayEminent domain abuse hurts America: ColumnTen years ago this week, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor engaged in an exchange in the now infamous case of Kelo v. City of New London...
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February 23, 2015Detroit Free PressPolice seize property and cash in questionable raidsThomas Williams was alone that November morning in 2013 when police raided his rural St. Joseph County home...
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February 21, 2015The Denver PostTighten Colorado forfeiture lawBack in 2002, a large majority of Colorado lawmakers concluded that police should seize the assets of people...
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The Forfeiture Machine Turns Cops into Robbers

The most terrifying place in Philadelphia is Courtroom 478 in City Hall. This is where property owners enter Philadelphia’s Civil Forfeiture Machine. Civil forfeiture is a little-known legal device that allows law enforcement officials to take your property, sell it and pocket the proceeds—even if you have done nothing wrong.

Philadelphia’s automated, machine-like forfeiture scheme is unprecedented in size. From 2002 to 2012, Philadelphia took in over $64 million in forfeiture funds—or almost $6 million per year. In 2011 alone, the city’s prosecutors filed 6,560 forfeiture petitions to take cash, cars, homes and other property. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office used over $25 million of that $64 million to pay salaries, including the salaries of the very prosecutors who brought the forfeiture actions. This is almost twice as much as what all other Pennsylvania counties spent on salaries combined.

This is how the city’s forfeiture machine works: Property owners who have their cash, cars or homes seized must go to Courtroom 478. But Courtroom 478 isn’t a courtroom at all: there is no judge or jury, just a scheduler and the prosecutors who run the show. Owners who ask for a lawyer are frequently told their case isn’t complicated and a lawyer isn’t necessary, but are then given a stack of complicated legal documents to fill out under oath. Time and time again, property owners must return to Courtroom 478—up to ten or more times in some cases. If they miss a single appearance, they can lose their property forever.

Philadelphia’s forfeiture machine stacks the deck against property owners and leads city officials to police for profit instead of justice. To end these unconscionable and unconstitutional practices, the Institute for Justice and a group of property owners have brought a major, class-action lawsuit in federal court. The lawsuit will take the profit incentive out of civil forfeiture and protect innocent people who are caught in an upside-down legal process that treats them like cash machines while violating their constitutional rights.

The Institute for Justice is always looking for new ways to promote the message of freedom. To that end, IJ produced the following videos in-house to tell the stories of our clients and their fight for individual liberty.

None of this — the cases or these videos — would be possible without the continued generosity of our donors. We hope you enjoy them and share them with those who need a little inspiration.

The Fight for Braiding Freedom (5:35)Since the advent of hair braiding more than 5,000 years ago, it has been a simple and safe practice that government has no business regulating. African-style hair braiding uses no dyes or chemicals, and it is safe for braiders to perform.

Gov't grabs elderly man's home; won't give reason (4:10)New Jersey’s CRDA is trying to use eminent domain to seize Charlie Birnbaum's property as part of a “mixed-use development” project. The trouble is that CRDA has no concrete plans to do anything in particular with it.

Institute Profile: Who We Are

Founded in 1991, the Institute for Justice is what a civil liberties law firm should be. As the national law firm for liberty, we stick to a clear mission engaging in cutting-edge litigation and advocacy both in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion on behalf of individuals whose most basic rights are denied by the government. Our four pillars of litigation are private property, economic liberty, free speech and school choice. Simply put, we seek a rule of law under which individuals can control their destinies as free and responsible members of society.

The Institute for Justice is a 501(c)(3) organization; donations are tax-deductible.

The IJ Way - While so many factors contribute to our success—the talents of the people involved, the commitment of our donors, and the pursuit of a strategic litigation plan—nothing is more central to our success than the culture of IJ, which determines the way we do business.

- 47 states protected property rights from eminent domain through legislative reform or state supreme court rulings after sole U.S. Supreme Court loss in Kelo v. City of New London

- Over 16,000 homes and businesses saved since Kelo

- First favorable U.S. appeals court ruling for economic liberty since the New Deal

- More than 300,000 children nationwide benefiting from school choice

- 38 national awards for our media relations work, publications, and production

- Strategic research cited by U.S. Supreme Courtand Indiana Supreme Court; used in 12 IJ briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, three successful cert. petitions, and 15 articles published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals; also cited in 145 articles by other authors in law, public policy, and scholarly journals

- Only law school clinic in the nation focusing exclusively on assisting low-income entrepreneurs start exclusively private-sector businesses